Working your job every day as expected will not automatically guarantee you career advancement. You may become a manager and maybe have a small team of 2 or 3 people, but you will probably not rise above that by just showing up and doing your regular job.
You must get out of your comfort zone and be daring in your role. Be seen and over deliver for the company. Show a great commitment to the long-term success. Develop your leadership skills and grow your influence across the company and with senior leaders so that your initiatives get approved.
Being a leader and positive influence in your company requires a new mindset. Every day, your attitude and optimism affect your potential. Technical skills alone will not get you promoted. The executive team members are looking for people who can be trusted within a tough framework and who can be relied upon in crisis situations.
Career advancement tips to be promoted above manager:
- Display confidence, a positive attitude, and optimism. People will follow leaders who are confident in the mission and project they are working on. Followers are looking for leaders who believe in what they are doing, who have positive energy and who believe in their team members. An incompetent manager will repel people. Team members want to follow a leader who has passion for the job and who clearly communicates a pathway for success.
- Be the expert. Know your industry, your profession and your company. Study the key metrics and the critical issues in the market. You need to know changes that are occurring in your industry, so you can provide the best advice.
- Develop leadership skills. Continually assess your leadership ability. Are you effective in leading your team and influencing others to buy in to your ideas and initiatives?
- Move on from setbacks or failures quickly. Learn quickly from a setback, don’t show emotion publicly, and don’t act like a victim. Move forward onto the next project with great humility and accept any coaching you may get with enthusiasm. Again, get over it and move on.
- Show support for your boss, your boss’s boss, your team and the company. Show commitment but be genuine. Get ahead of requirements by paying attention to key words and expressions of senior leaders. Anticipating future actions will be valuable because you will be prepared when the topic surfaces again in a critical meeting.
- Be a team builder. Bridge relationships between teams and with the people on your team. Approach differences from a common understanding. Be the leader who achieves a consensus that moves the group forward. By being the leader who can achieve an acceptable middle ground, your value will be recognized.
- Add value to every process you touch. Be positive and add great value when involved in a project. Share great ideas to move the project forward. Avoid being perceived as seeking attention or being a know-it-all. Perform great analysis and address concerns from a professional stance.
- Develop initiatives to support the strategy and the vision of your boss. New relevant ideas are the backbone of showing your potential.
- Be strategic about social media. Posting in social media should support your career and your goals. Share great ideas about your industry and profession. Support your company and display your potential for advancement. People are looking at what you are saying in your social media accounts. Avoid pitfalls like politics and sharing too much personal information. Your social media presence should support your career and personal brand.
- Take care of your team. Put your team first. Be humble and set your team members up for success. Grow them and give them great opportunities to succeed. Build trust and empower.
- Choose your words and gestures carefully. Don’t use disqualifying words or phrases that make you appear weak. Don’t over apologize. If you make a mistake, own it, but don’t dwell – move on quickly. Be poised and calm always. Your personal brand requires thoughtful communication including appropriate body language. For example, research has shown that hand placement subconsciously affects how people trust you. Show your hands to be viewed as more trustworthy.
- Successfully deliver a key presentation. Get in front of the executive team to deliver a great idea. Combine the facts with an interesting delivery. Show off your skills to present a well-thought out initiative that will provide a great opportunity for the company.
- Be open minded. Inflexibility or being stubborn about an ideal will not move you forward. As a leader, don’t overlook sources of great ideas. Be kind to all you encounter and build strong relationships at all levels of the organization. Be open minded when new concepts and new ideas are presented.
- Share your goals. Speak up about your goals and the next role you are looking for. Don’t fear sharing what you want to accomplish. Some don’t share because they fear that someone will view you as competition. You may be surprised that people will help you with your career advancement especially strategic leaders. Doing a good job and just waiting for someone else to move you up, probably won’t happen. Talk openly about what you want, and you may be pleasantly surprised.
- Don’t play it safe. Take calculated risks. Be willing to go beyond your comfort zone to develop key relationships to help your career. Be daring to introduce your original idea that will help grow the company. Be ready with your elevator pitch. You may only have about 10-15 seconds or less to make an impression that will lead you down a great path. Be bold when the opportunity arises.
You risk credibility by not being genuine, being a know-it-all or appearing worried at small issues. Be the one who is calm in a crisis and offer intelligent and well-thought out advice.
Benefits of Effective Communication to Improve Your Leadership Ability and Influence
Carry yourself as professional at times and present yourself as a team member who can be loyal, committed and not prone to ruining your personal brand. Get the job done always without excuses. Over-deliver with your performance, avoid perfection and become a positive influencing force in your company. The final key is to build trust to aid in your career advancement.
What areas can you improve that will lead to career advancement above manager?
Please comment or email me at comment@stephenmclain.com.
Copyright 2018 – Stephen McLain
